Materials Processing
in Space
Challenge: Identified material’s whose applications justify high cost of processing in low gravity.
Potential applications: Devices where resistance to demagnetization is critical (guidance systems, pacemakers, hearing aids, etc.) and usage amount is small enough to make the application insensitive to cost
Working closely with professors & other graduate students at Vanderbilt University, developed and patented demagnetization resistant alloy formulation & a rapid solidification process to simulate processing in a micro-gravity environment. Resulting system was shown to be 3x more resistant to demagnetization that the standard, terrestrial alloy.
Effort was funded by NASA & industry to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of processing high value materials in space.
Patent 4983230
High Perfomance
Sink Material
Challenge: Developed cost effective, proprietary composite material with industry leading performance
Hands-on member of team that adapted a manufacturing process from an unrelated industry and subsequently engineered material formulations in a wide range of colors to produce sinks with superior impact, stain, & scratch resistance at lower cost than competitive products.
The system enabled molding capabilities not feasible with other materials & processes.
The formulation was developed in close collaboration LCA practitioners to ensure sustainability was designed into the material & mfg. process from the outset of the project
Patent 9650490
Manual
Bidet seat
Challenge: Developed a low-cost bidet seat with functionality equal to or better than electronic seats.
Collaborated closely with industrial designers & engineers to package the seat design around an innovative, yet simple mechanism that controls the direction & flow of the water. Resulting product was priced at ¼ that of competitive (electric) bidet seats with superior water flow & directional control
Patent 9976293
Storage & Quick
install Shower Doors
Challenge: Enhanced the functionality of shower doors to drive differentiation in a commoditized space
Added storage to the door without compromising entry & egress. Worked closely with the operator of the largest injection molding press in the US at the time to ensure a seamless, uniform storage column
Patent 8707475
Enabled door to be installed without drilling into bath fixture or wall surround. Worked closely with the six-sigma team to design experiments to ensure the design’s robustness
Patents: 6895714 & 6701672
